The Number of Transgender People in the U.S. Has Doubled

GAY PRIDE PARADE, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2016/06/26: Thousands of people came out and commemorate the 46th anniversary of the first Pride March with the largest Pride March in the country. This event is the largest for the LGBT community. The first March was held in 1970 and has since become an annual civil rights demonstration. Over the years its purpose has broadened to include recognition of the fight against AIDS and to remember those we have lost to illness, violence and neglect. The March is a celebration of our lives and our community. (Photo by Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)LightRocket via Getty Images

There are 1.4 million transgender people in the U.S., which is double the estimate of 700,000 from five years ago, according to a new report from the Williams Institute.

The estimates are from anonymous self-reports. In total, transgender people now make up about 0.6% of the total population of the U.S., though the figures vary state by state. For example, in North Dakota, 0.3% reported identifying as transgender, while 0.75% of those in Georgia and 0.78% in California reported identifying as transgender, The New York Times notes.

This growth in numbers could be because people are increasingly becoming aware of different identities, and/or are becoming increasingly comfortable with accepting, and thereby reporting, their own gender identities. According to The Times, many of the newly identified transgender people are young, between ages 18 and 24.

Now knowing that the transgender population in the U.S. is twice as large as previously known, though, increases the importance of providing resources for this group and ensuring their rights are protected. “Even if it’s 40,000 or 30,000, that’s a lot more than they thought,” Mara Keisling, the director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told The Times. “That helps us to say, ‘Don’t use us politically — you have to do something right by us. There are a lot of us living in your state.’” This includes everything from healthcare to nursing homes, and of course, the right to use the bathroom.